The Big One

Well, it's done - the big one has been competed. This session is so scary I can only even contemplate doing it once. If it goes wrong, then that's it - I would not even attempt it again.

Basically, this turbo session is:

10 mins warm up
30 mins at threshold
10 mins recovery (easy spinning)
30 mins at threshold
10 mins recovery
30 mins at threshold
10 mins warm down

I have felt good recently, so it was time to do it. The first 30 mins effort was great and I had to hold back to avoid overdoing things. The second one was painful after about 10 mins and I was starting to worry about the third one even before I had completed the second 30 mins. As expected, I was hanging on for the duration of the last 30 min effort. This was torture and I don't mind admitting that I faded and there was a serious drop in power towards the end. It was a magnificent achievement, though, just to hang on and complete the session. At times it was a question of mind over matter as the seconds ticked away ever more slowly.

I am now hardly able to walk and I hurt all over (especially my back). The readings do suggest a drop in power on the third threshold effort, but my heart rate was sky high for this part so the effort was a good one. Overall I think this was as good as I could have expected.

I will now start to taper down towards the start of the season.